Early Monday morning, 13 October, Isaac Construction moved onto Bridge Street to begin the Bridge to Better prep work.

Bridge Street, between Trafalgar Street and Collingwood Street is now closed to vehicles 24/7 till mid-December.

Pedestrian access will remain open on both sides of the street, with clear signage to help everyone reach the shops, cafes and businesses along the block. All businesses will remain open throughout the work, and we encourage everyone to keep supporting them while the team gets this essential work done.

This week they trenched around the historic brick-lined sewer and removed the historic kerbstones.

The historic brick-lined sewer beneath Bridge Street has been uncovered as part of Bridge to Better preparatory works on Bridge Street between Trafalgar and Collingwood Streets. Built in the 1870s, this structure is a remarkable piece of Nelson’s early engineering history.

Our contractors are inspecting the pipe and installing new manholes to make it easier to access and maintain in future. These will also let us fit a protective liner so the pipe can be reused for stormwater.

Bridge Streets historic kerbstones were removed this week too.

Bridge Street’s granite kerbstones, laid in the 1860s and 1870s, were hand-shaped, primarily from boulders taken from the Boulder Bank and remain in the street today.

While the new street design removes raised kerbs, the historic kerbstones are being carefully lifted, cleaned and reset into the new design as flat delineator bands, which help to visually separate the pedestrian pathway from the carriageway.

The stones have been carefully placed into storage till the end of the project.

Over the next few years, one man will become a familiar face on Bridge Street.

Gerald “Ged” Casey, works for Isaac Construction, who are delivering the Bridge Street project, and will be the project’s stakeholder manager - the go-to person for resolving issues, answering questions, and keeping Bridge Street businesses informed.

Ged is the front man for our project series "Ged's Two Cents". Quick video snippets of what's going on through the project. Click here to read more about Ged.